Getting a bad evaluation from Internship #3 would have hurt a lot more if Internship #1 didn't write that I "exceed standards" on every category. Vin wrote that I was a diligent worker, very bright, and dependable. It's nice to know other people think you're dependable. Just to think about how often I depend on people who can't pull through and then to be told my bosses feel they can rely on me is great!
The best part about wrapping up your internship is getting your evaluation. I take these really seriously because interning is a learning process, and to be able to get honest feedback on what you've done for the past few months is invaluable. I also love to know what I do best and it's never a bad idea to know what you could improve upon. I truly do not mind constructive criticism and never take it personally.
So I stole this from The Life of Sass. I figured it'd be fun to do since I've never done something like this before and it involved music so you know I'm down for it. The rules are to put your iPod on shuffle and then put whatever song comes up as the answer for each question and you can't skip around til you find one that makes sense.
Here we go!
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
That's All I Ask Of You - Tony! Toni! Tone! (not exactly...)
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Bad Girl - Jon B. (Sorry, Mom!)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
I'm So Into You - Aaliyah (When I decide I like a guy, I really like 'em)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Everyday Struggles - Notorious B.I.G.
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Get You Right - Pretty Rick (I aim to please)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
What More Can I Say - Jay-Z (The first lines of this song are, "Are you not entertained?" and ends with "We'll see what happens when I no longer exist")
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Invisible Man - 98 Degrees (not true)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Time Machine - T-Pain (I am a big fan of reminiscing, I must say)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Feelin' It - Sammie (what?)
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
On Bended Knee - Boyz II Men (I HATE begging)
HOW WILL YOU DIE?
I'm Grindin - (this song is by an artist I c0-manage...and it's probably true)
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Only Human - Bobby Valentino (Can't I be super woman or something instead?)
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Unbelievable - Notorious B.I.G. feat. R. Kelly
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Baby Don't Go - Fabolous feat. T-Pain
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Comfortable - Lil Wayne feat. Babyface (I suppose I'm fairly comfortable)
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
True Love - Faith Evans
WHAT IS 2+2?
Listen - Talib Kweli (I've always had a hard time with math)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Director - Avant (she does know what she wants ha)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sweet - Jay-Z (very true, sweetest guy you'll ever meet)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
I Got A Story to Tell - Notorious B.I.G. (hilariously untrue)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
I Tried - Bone Thugs n Harmony feat. Akon (it better be more like "i came i saw i conquered" not i tried!)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Can't You See - Styles P feat. Lemar
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
I Said I Really Love You - Boyz II Men (also very true, I have a slight fear of commitment)
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Jezzebel - Boyz II Men (oh boy...)
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Thugz Mansion (Acoustic) - Tupac feat. Nas (one of my favorite songs, a classic)
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Down For Me - Loon
There's a certain feeling you get when you find what you're meant to do in life. I can't explain it, I can only say that it came to me the first time I heard Boyz II Men sing "Thank You" and it's been with me ever since. I went through a lot of bumps chasing what I'm supposed to do with my life, but I never forgot that feeling and it always, only made me stronger. Until recently.
Everyone at work is talking about the various holiday parties going on in the industry this season. I have no desire to go to the party, if there even is one, for internship #1, if I were even invited in the first place! All this talk reminds me of the work holiday party I went to last year. The one that was in the show room of my office...the one where we had a painfully long karaoke session that quickly turned into a striptease, left that office, went out to dinner, then went to a bar, and by the time I left...our tech guy was sleeping at the bar, and our other tech guy was making out with the tech girl, getting ready to leave with her. The next day my boss told me if I went into the office to get her computer I could stay home the rest of the day. I got to the office and less than half the company was there and the people that were there were either a) hung over or b) feeling awkward about the previous night's shenanigans. The night was however, one I think of often and with fond memories.
I didn't take part in anything too crazy, but in case you did, here are a few tips to avoid that awkward next day conversation in the office kitchen.
The Daylight Rule - It's okay to drink at your office's holiday party, but don't drink more than you would during the day. A lot of times we feel protected by the darkness of the night and tend to act out of character. Socialize and have a drink or two, but you shouldn't be drunk. Always remember to keep your drink in your left hand so you right hand is free to shake hands with other people.
Spread Out - Holiday parties are one of the few times you'll be in the same room with the people on the very bottom of the food chain and the very stop. It's easy to stick with your go-to group of office friends but try to spread out and socialize with different people. I took the opportunity to talk to the CEO last year and we had such a nice conversation, we even took pictures. After that he always said hello to me and remembered my name.
Research - Make sure you know what type of party this is--is it going to be in the office, at a bar, at a bowling alley? The setting can give you a pretty good idea of what the atmosphere will be. Find out what the dress code is too..unless you go to work everyday wearing casual clothes (like I usually do) you don't want to wear something too crazy or too revealing. I think of these parties in the same way as when you were a kid and saw your teacher in regular people clothes outside of the classroom on weekends. People will be looking at you differently in this different setting and you still want to keep it on some type of professional level.
Show Up - People will be talking about those who don't show up and often times, the holiday party is a great way to bond with your co-workers. You don't want to miss out on this and be excluded from the party convos around the office the next day. Even if you only stay an hour, make the effort to show up and appear happy to be there! Don't stay out too late though because you DO have to go to work tomorrow and you can't exactly lie to your boss and say you can't come to work because your dog is sick when the entire office knows you were out partying until 3 am.
Most importantly, have a good time...you worked hard all year and you deserve it! Remember to think about what kind of office culture your company has and translate that to a party setting. Happy Holidays :-)
I've heard it over and over again for the past three years, "You have to have tough skin," "You have to have a thick exterior to make it out here." I always think of snake skin when I hear this phrase, I'm not even really sure why because upon further thought, snake skin sheds and is actually pretty thin. I do not have tough skin, at least, I don't think I do.
It's only fair to know this before you get in the game...it'd be like signing a contract with the NFL without knowing that you'd have to get tackled and be tackled in order to play. The problem is, how tough do you have to be? Where do you draw the line? And most importantly, who determines the acceptable thickness of my skin? Is there a set measurement that I should try to attain? How tough is tough enough?
I worked really hard on a small project today and around 4:00 I took a bathroom break only to find 2 girls standing outside one of the stalls talking to someone from the other side. "Great." I thought "Is someone throwing up in there? Because I really don't have the stomach for that..." Then it got silent and I heard small whimpers from inside the stall, and the other girls consoling her with the "Its okay" and the obligatory "I'm here for you." They left shortly after I came in the bathroom but the girl was still crying and I could hear her furiously typing away on her Blackberry. What could possibly be happening that you start crying at work? And if its that much of a crisis...why are you still here?!
I scurried out of there for fear of having to be in some awkward situation consoling someone who clearly wanted to be left alone. A little while later I noticed the girl crying in the bathroom was an assistant that sits pretty close to me. I heard her talking about how stressed she is and she wants to quit her job and you know, the usual ranting and raving one could expect from a disgruntled employee.
I couldn't help but think, does that mean she's not tough enough for this? This particular girl cries at work fairly often. Does it mean her boss thinks her skin isn't thick enough and that she just isn't cut out for this? I've never cried at work, but I'm not really a crier. There have been times where I may have wanted to, but I calm myself down before it escalates, because I don't want to be labeled the "cry baby" or seen as not tough enough. I tend to crumble when I don't do something perfectly, but in the grand scheme of things, I think thats minimal. I thrive under pressure because to me it means my boss trusts me with a lot and believes that I can get the job done. So maybe I am tough enough. Are you?
Never underestimate the resources on the internet. When I was looking for a job, I would spend hours pouring over Google results for things like "entertainment internships," "internships in New York," "record label intern," and "music industry internships." Sometimes I found websites that were of no use to me, sometimes I found sites that did actually have job postings, and still other times, I found websites that at least offered guidance to keep me focused.
Even after you get hired for an internship, you should continue searching the internet because you never know what's out there waiting for you. Recently, I've stumbled upon Intern Queen, aka Lauren Berger. The site is run by someone who's interned more times than I have! On her website you can find intern tips and even purchase intern clothing from the Internal Ethiks (shirts with sayings like "I Spill Coffee For A Living" and "All Work, No Pay").
The best resource the Intern Queen has to offer is her blog which has internship listings and question/answer posts. So check her out, leave her love, ask her questions, and tell her Intern Chick sent you!
A post from Lauren's Intern Advice section, something I tell people all the time:
Be the intern people remember - remember your co-workers names, build personal relationships with the people around you, try your best and make sure people know who you are. People are lucky to know you. You are not JUST an intern
Kevin Liles is someone I hold near and dear to my heart. When I was trying to get my first internship, the only thing that stood in my way of getting hired at my 1st place was reading his book "Make It Happen" and writing an essay on it. I was up against another intern for the spot, and he had already read the book, so I knew I was behind before the race even started. I rushed to the bookstore, read the book, and wrote my essay, in less than 24 hours. I was hired for the job after that and almost a year later, my boss who had hired me was still talking about my essay. Even though I rushed to read that book, it has stayed with me and something I think everyone, not just interns and not just Hip-Hop heads, should read.
Not only do I hold Kevin Liles in high esteem because of that book but also because he started out as an intern, just like me. He worked really hard to climb his way from the very bottom and today he is the executive vice president of Warner Music Group (one of the few labels who have been able to stay on top). In 2002, as the executive vice president of Island Def Jam Music Group, he cultivated the careers of artists like Jay-Z, Ludacris, Ja Rule, and Kanye West.
I have so much respect for Kevin not only for what he's done in business, but what he's done for Hip-Hop. In the past few years, he's joined Russell Simmons in hosting Hip-Hop summits to teach young kids about the Hip-Hop movement and what that means for our political, social, and cultural future. He's also made it his job to speak about Hip-Hop as a positive force for today's youth and help correct some ugly stereotypes the culture has been plagued by.
The most important thing I've learned from Kevin Liles??
Embrace the Struggle
I think you can figure that one out for yourself ;-)
Check out Kevin Liles on Oprah's Hip Hop Town Hall Meeting....skip to 2 minutes in to hear his wisdom.
I think I have more to offer all of you than just my crazy, hard to believe, intern stories. Being an intern has become a lifestyle for me and not something that has been easy, either! With that said, I'm going to be providing more for my faithful readers.
Some ideas I'm throwing around right now are more Secret Admirer entries (for all my music fanatics), interviews with other intern and industry experts, tips for getting an internship, keeping an internship, living on an intern budget, and eventually leaving that internship (all with style), and something I'm really excited about...featured intern guests who will write about their own experiences as an intern to give those of you who are thinking about interning but not necessarily in the music industry more of an idea of what to expect.
I love reading your e-mails, and comments, so please keep writing and let me know what you want to see or read more of, and even what you want to see less of! If you want to contribute to my blog as an intern guest, please e-mail me at theinternchick@gmail.com and I'd be happy to have you!
Make sure to follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/Internchick)
..and come be my friend on Myspace, it gets lonely over there! (http://www.myspace.com/internchick)
I may even post a picture or two of me for all you inquiring minds ;-)
Yesterday I wore heels to work, and I got sent out on a lot of walking errands. So today I wore big comfy cuddly snow boots, because when the Big Boss comes in, it's a guarantee I'll be going somewhere, at least once.
A few hours after I'd been at work, Vin asked me to go meet Big Boss at the cell phone store. I looked up where the store was and asked what I was going there to do (its always good to be prepared) and Vin casually said, "She just needs you to sit in her car while she goes in the store." I thought "oh" casually, this sounds easy enough and I was on my way. Vin gave me his metro card so I could get there fast and told me to call her on her cell phone when I got there and to look for her car, its a BMW. As I was sitting on the train I started to think about how this little task would play out. I pictured her running into the store, and me sitting there waiting. Easy enough.
Then my mind started to race. What if someone came and told me I had to move the car? Would I have to drive it? Where would I even drive it to? Why can't I just go in the store for her and SHE sits in the car? I can't do this, why can't Vin do it?! He drives her car all the time.
I finally got there, and by there, I mean 6th Avenue and 42nd street, you know, really close to Rockefeller Center where they'd be lighting the Christmas tree in a few hours. The traffic was INSANE. This was not what I pictured at all. I slowly pulled out my cell phone and told Big Boss I was at the store, she said she was looking for a spot or somewhere to pull over and told me what street she was on. I walked down a block or two and found her sitting at a red light. We hung up the phone and she pulled down her window and asked what I thought she should do. I stuttered and stumbled over my words...like I know ANYTHING about driving around midtown Manhattan in a mob of Christmas tourists.
Before I knew it, she'd grabbed her bag and hopped out the car, leaving the door open and the car running and said, "Here, you drive it..just circle around the block" and was walking up the street before I could protest. WHAT?????? This is exactly what I didn't want to happen! I just stood there, dumbfounded, trying to process this in my mind. Did she really just leave her car running at a red light on 6th avenue and tell me to drive it?
Did I mention this was a BMW?
I guess she looked back and still saw me standing there, so she called out behind her, "You do know how to drive, don't you??" I yelled, "Y-y-yea..I know how to d-drive" I looked inside the car for a moment, trying to calm myself down, and all of a sudden remembered, "WAIT!!! Is this a standard?!!?" She turned around and said that yes, it was. I thought GREAT! I don't know how to drive a standard, glad thats over. Then she said, "I mean, no it isn't. I mean..you don't need a stick to drive it" Great, I was stuck now, I had no excuse. So I got in. First, I had to figure out how to put the seat back, because Big Boss is actually Tiny Boss, she barely even comes up to my shoulder. There were a ton of buttons, no bar that you pull that moves the seat back like in a regular car for us middle class people. This was not my Mercury that I'm used to. So I started pushing the buttons, the seat went up & down and up & down...that wasn't right. I pushed a few more, the seat back went forward & backward, forward & backward, the side mirrors went up and down, left and right. The seat wouldn't budge. I pressed another and got it to move just a little, but that sent the mirrors into a frenzy and I couldn't see out of them. I put the car into drive and slowly took my foot off the break, I went to press the gas pedal and I couldn't find it, I swore it wasn't there! I felt like I was in some type of horrible nightmare. My boots were too big for the tiny gas pedal, I stepped on the break with my left foot and slowly felt around for the gas. Finally I turned onto 41st Street and went ever so slowly. Big Boss had turned the hazard lights on when she pulled over and I couldn't find that little red triangle button to save my life. I looked everywhere. Meanwhile, a line of cars behind me was beeping and cussing at me. I reached a red light finally, found the button and turned those annoying lights off with a hard push. At least that was settled. I was in such a state of shock when I got in the car that when I put my seat belt on, I tangled my iPod wire in it and now had to leave it that way, while Keyshia Cole blared from the headphones. This was awkward.
I circled around once. It took about 10 minutes, still no call from the Big Boss. I kept seeing signs that said to avoid the streets I was driving on because of the tree lighting...great, who else but me would be stuck in this predicament on such a day? So I went to circle around again. By this time I started to feel like I was in a bad video game. Driving the same track over and over. Dodging obstacles in the road (trucks unloading, dumpsters, cars cutting you off every which way), watching out for people jumping in the road, and swerving through crazy driving cars.
I kept thinking about how hard it is to drive in New York City, and that I'd only done it once before for just a few minutes. Why did my first time have to be in my boss' BMW??? More than 20 minutes had gone by, and I kept hoping she would call as I was passing the store, because if she called after I'd passed it, she'd have to wait 10 minutes for me to get around. Finally, Vin called. I answered the phone and he must have heard the fear in my voice because he said, Intern Chick??? Is that you?? Are you okay??? You sound terrified! All I could muster was "yea, I'm...fine." He said Big Boss was ready for me, just at the time I was approaching the cell phone store. Big Boss got in the driver's seat and I got in the passenger seat. I mumbled an apology about having to move her seat, luckily she was on an important call so I dodged the bullet of having to talk about it.
Phew, I'd made it. It wasn't so bad once I actually did it (and of course, after I figured out how to turn the hazard lights off). Yet another example of how your internship will force you to do things you never thought you could do, and show you that you can, in fact, do it.
My task for tomorrow? Fill Big Boss' new cell phone with ring tones.
As an intern, the question I get asked most is, "So, what are you trying to do?" This usually means, what is my ultimate goal in the music industry, and a lot of times I think people ask this just to find out if you're trying to take their spot. Other times, I think people ask this question so they can tell me to run, and run fast, before the industry turns me into a big hairy scary monster like all the other executives (okay, not all, but most).
It used to be really easy for me. I had everything I wanted to do mapped out, and when I wanted to accomplish it by. It wasn't even like I was setting deadlines because I didn't think I'd need to, I just had this inner feeling that I'd go hard and go far, quickly. But after interning for three years, I'm kind of stuck...almost like I'm stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. I have all the tools to keep going, but I don't know how to change the old tire and put a new one on.
I used to want to intern so bad, I'd do anything for it. After I interned, my next goal was to graduate college, get a job not being someone's assistant, and by the time I was 30, be the big shot executive. Obviously it was more detailed than that, but those were the main points and stops on my road to pure record industry glory. Oh yea, and then from age 30 onward, I wanted to give urban music a new face, revamp it into what it once was, but better. Unfortunately since then, I've learned a thing or two about this business, and it isn't all that easy.
A lot of times, I feel like I'm too old to be interning again. The other interns at my other jobs are 19 and have never interned anywhere else before, and its exciting for them. It used to be exciting for me too. I kind of feel like all a kid left behind in pre school when all my friends got to move on to kindergarten. At this age, I should be working already, but thats something I can't change so I try not to dwell on it, though it pops into my mind often enough. But then I think about next year, when I do graduate, what am I going to do then? Not everyone ends up taking this particular path, but the one that is most often traveled is intern, then assistant to an executive (for a very long time, and most people, I have yet to see them get past this phase) and then eventually, if ever, the executive. Even that isn't as cut and dry as I make it sound because every year the record industry lays off hundreds of people in an attempt to stay afloat in a drowning sea of file sharing, mp3's, and millions of dollars lost. So not only do you end up starting out working like crazy for free, but then you work as someone's assistant for years, only to get laid off unexpectedly right before Christmas. Some payback that is. And those I do know who have gotten laid off never saw it coming, so how do you even cover your ass in an environment like that?
Is this really what I'm trying to do??
To be continued...
I win the award for most creative blog title, right?!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. I've been so busy lately, I didn't even have time to think about what I was thankful for. My family isn't the cliche New England type family that goes around the table with eloquent words on what they're thankful for. Its more like the sounds of forks banging on plates and the pouring of wine in our glasses, which is a-ok with me.
Thinking about what I'm thankful for is just something I try to keep in mind at least for a minute or two on Thanksgiving. It helps me keep things in perspective and makes me realize how much I do have. Every year I'm thankful for things like still having my family in my life, having a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in every night, having clean drinking water, being fortunate enough to attend college, my health, and my friends--the kind that fill my life with joy and love. Those things are standard.
Crazy things I'm thankful for? I'm thankful for sleep and something I call Baby Pillow, Hip-Hop, Family Guy, digital cameras, cuddly winter clothes like boots and sweatshirts and jackets with fuzzy hoods, old pictures of my grandmother, my cell phone, coloring books and crayons, Nikes, good stories that make me laugh, and the internet.
New things that I'm thankful for this year. Maybe just one thing. I thought a lot about the opportunity that's been presented to me, to be able to live in New York, and work 3 internships. This isn't something everyone will experience in their lifetime and I can't not be thankful that I somehow have managed to attain such a thing. As much trouble as it may give me sometimes, the fact of the matter is, 4 years ago, I'd be dying for something like this and for that, I am thankful. I'm thankful to be able to walk into a record label every day and feel comfortable there because just the very thought of one used to make my stomach do back flips. I'm thankful for everyone that has supported me through the times when I wanted to quit, because without them, I wouldn't have anything else.
